Combined fence stretcher and post.



No. 769,479. PATENTED SEPT. 6, 1904. J. W. HUTGHISON. COMBINED FENCESTRETOHER AND POST.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.27, 1903.

NO MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

QQ mm@ PATENTED SEPT. 6, 1904.

J. W. HUTCHISON. COMBINED FENCE STRETOHBR AND POST.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 27.1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

NO MODEL.

MQW

UNITED STATES Patented September 6, 1904;.V

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN lV. HUTOHISON, OFV BLAOIUVELL, OKLAHOMA TERRITORY.

COMBINED FENCE STRETCHER AND POST.

SPECIFCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 769,479, dated September6, 1904.

Application filed November 27,1903. Serial No. 182,926. (No model.)

To al] Ich/)m if muy concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN lV. HUToHIsoN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Blackwell, in the county of Kay and Territory of Oklahoma,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined FenceStretcher and Post, of which the :following is a specification.

My invention relates to combined fence stretchers and posts, and isdesigned more especially as an improvement on a wirefenee stretcher onwhich Patent No. 573,150 was issued to me on December l, 1896.

M y particular' object in this connection is to provide means for notonly stretching the fence vertically, but also and with the samestructure for bracing it laterally, so as to provide a fence which willsuccessfully resist the efforts at escape of stock of all kinds.

A further object is to provide a post which in slightly-modified formsis adapted for use as a corner-post, as a divisionpost, or as an outsidepost and which can be easily and quickly set up or taken down.

VlVith these and other objects in view the invention consists in certainnovel and peculiar features of construction and organization, ashereinafter described and claimed, and in order that it may be fullyunderstood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure l represents a perspective view of a portion of a wirefence equipped with combined 'fence stretehers and posts embodying myinvention, said figure showing a cornerpost and a division-post. Fig. 2is a horizontal section taken on the line Il ll of Fig. l. Fig. 3 isvertical section taken through the fence and ground contiguous to acombined fence stretcher and post, said figure showing the latter as anoutside post.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, l designates the base or sill,the same for a corner-post being in the form of intersecting arms,whereas for division and outside posts it consists simply in a singlearm. For the division-posts said arm is preferably of the same length asthe arms of the corner-post sill, while for the outside post the sill isof shorter length, as shown in Fig. 3.

In alll cases the sill is preferably of cast-iron or other suitablemetal, and the ends of the arm or arms are formed with dependingportions 2 for embedment in the ground, so as to serve as an anchoragainst dislocation or creepage of the posts. The sills are provided attheir upper sides with suitably-spaced lugs 3, the corner-post sillbeing provided centrally with four of said lugs, while the division andoutside post sills are provided with only two of said lugs. ln thedivision-post sill the lugs are disposed near its center. In theoutsidepost sill they are preferably disposed near the inner end of thesill.

#L and 5 designate the two superposed mem- 65 bers of the stretcherproper, said stretcher in the division and outside fence-postsconstituting a part of the post. rl`hese members combined slightlyexceed the height of the felice when stretched and have their contiguousends hinged together, as at 6, and their opposite ends provided withgrooves 7 to receive the top and bottom wires of Vthe fence. For thecorner-post structure the post 8 constitutes the locking-plate for thestretchers, of which there are two, while in the other post structures ashort plate 8 constitutes the locking-plate. One member, of eachstretcherof the division and outside posts is secured pei'- manently, asat 9, to the plate 8, while the 8O other member, 4, is secureddetachably, as by screw 10, to said plate, and said plates hold the twomembers in vertical alinement, so as to constitute a rigid structure. Apair of stretchers are provided for the corner-post 8, S 5 a stretcherat each outer side thereof, and one member, 5, of each stretcher issecured permanently, as at 9, to the post, while the other member ofeach stretcher is detaehably secured to the post, as by screws 10, thepost acting as a lock to hold the stretcher members vertical and rigid.

l1 represents inclined braces, which are preferably of steel of suitabledimensions, having their upper ends bent vertically, as at l2, so to fitiiatly against and be bolted to the top of the post 8, while the lowerends of said braces are bent inwardly to provide foot portions 13 torest uponand be bolted to the outer ends of sills l. For thedivision-posts IOO similar braces 1la are provided, their upper endsbeing bent to a vertical position to lit flatly against and be bolted tothe upper mem-- ber of the stretcher, while their lower ends are bentinward to form foot portions 138L to rest upon and be bolted to thesill. For the outside post a similar brace Il unites the upper member ofthe stretcher to the end of the sill most remote from'lugs 3.

In practice the fence, preferablyT of woven wire and consisting ofhorizontal or strand wires 14 and vertical or tie wires l5, is stretchedas follows: The sill is firstdisposed at the point where the corner ofthe fence is to be located, substantially as shown in Fig. l. The post 8is then mounted thereon, as shown, and braced with the fence-wire incontact with two of its sides. The stretchers while flexed or bentoutward from the post on hinges 6 in an obvious manner have their uppergrooves 7 engaged with the upper strand-wire, while their lower grooves7 are engaged with the bottom strand- 4wire. The stretchers-are thenstraightened out, so as to stretch the fence vertically, and are thenbodily lowered until their lower members and the post t in the socket inthe groundsill, being -then secured, as at 9a and 10a, to the post 8,Vso as to secure them reliably in the position described. The fencebeing then stretched longitudinally, the division and outside posts areset up.v They are first placed adjacent to the fence at proper intervalsin knockdown condition-that is, with the sills extending transversely ofand below the fence and the braces and stretchers disconnected from eachother and from said sill, the stretchers being also in a flexed con'dition, as shown by dotted lines, Fig. 3, so as to bring their groovedends nearer together.

for engagement with the top and bottom strand-wires. After the dependingends of the sills are embedded in the ground to anchor them thestretchers are straightened to vertical position to stretch the fenceand are so secured vby means of thelocking-plates, the lower end of thestretchers being of course tted between the lugs 3 of the sills beforethe members of the stretcher are locked together in vertical alinementby means of said plates. The braces are now bolted to the upper membersof the stretchers and to the sills, as shown and hereinbefore explained.For the outside post a single bracey only at the outside of the fence isemployed, as shown in Fig. 3. A fence thus equipped with combinedstretchers and posts of the type described is stronger and more durablethan an' little resistance to the lateral pressure imposed upon thefence by the stock; nor does it usually hold the fence stretchedsufiiciently to prevent hogs from raising the lower wire or wires andescaping from below. Vith this structure the fence is braced laterallyfrom top to bottom and stretched so `tightly in a vertical directionthat there is practically no chance for a hog to escape below it.Lateral pressure against the fence is efe'ctually resisted by theinclined braces at the opposite side, and all the strain imposed uponany particular wire is through the Vm'efdium'of the stretcherdistributed more equally upon all of the wires than in an ordinarypost-fence,` and where the' inclined braces are provided at both sidesthe attempt of a steer to uproot the post by hooking his horns under thein-f ner inclined brace is resisted. by the inclined brace andgroundsill at the opposite side of the fence. I This combined stretcherand fence-post possesses another advantage overthe ordinary:

fence-post-namely, it can be removed temporarily when it is desired toburn dry weeds or thistles where they have accumulated ad-` jacent to oragainst the fence-a great many y fences being destroyed in the westerncountry by the employees of railroad companies, who when the weeds aredry frequently burn them out along the railroad-tracks to avoid morevserious conflagrations due to accidental igni-v tion of said weeds bysparksfrom the loco' motives. Furthermore, ranchmen frequently haveoccasion to burn up the immense amount .of thistles which accummulateagainst fences gso heavily at timesl as to break them down; gand theonly remedyY is to' burn them.' My: gstretcher and'post, as abovestated, if made of;

wood may be easily and quickly removed preliminary to this burningoperation'and can subsequently be replaced with thesame ease vanddespatch.

If the combined fence stretchers and postsare made of metal, they willlasta lifetime, cor' rosion being prevented by giving them at suitableintervals a coat of paint; The stretchers and posts also possess thedesirable featureV of simplicity, cheapness of construction, andlightness of weight, to the end that in knockdown condition theyV maykbe conveniently transported from one'place tov another.

From the above descriptionit will beiappar ent that I have produced acombined stretcher and post for wire fences of any type which includesconnections between the horizontal wires so that the upward pressure onthe top wire andthe downward pressure on the bottom wire will stretchvertically the entire fence. i

Having thus described the invention, whatr I I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, isg i l. A combined. fence stretcher vand.post, comprising a stretch er composed of a plurality*y`ofmembersconnectedI together and adapted tot:

I OO

engage and stretch the fence vertically, means for locking said membersin the relation they occupy while the fence is stretched, a groundsillconnected to the stretcher near its lower end, and an inclined braceconnecting the groundsill with the upper part of the stretcher.

A combined fence stretcher and post, comprising a stretcher composed ofa plurality of members connected together and adapted to engage andstretch the fence vertically, means for locking said members in therelation they occupy while the fence is stretched, a groundsillconnected to the stretcher near its lower end and provided withdepending portions embedded in the ground, and an inclined braceconnecting the groundsill with the upper part of the stretcher.

3. A combined fence stretcher and post, comprising a stretcher composedof members hinged together and adapted to be brought into verticalalinement and vertically stretch the fence, means to lock said membersin vertical alinement, a groundsill projecting from the lower end of thelower section, and an inclined brace connecting the upper section withthe groundsill.

i. A combined fence stretcher and post,

-comprising a stretcher composed of members hinged together and providedwith a notch in the lower end of the lower member to engage the bottomwire, and a notch in the upper end of the upper member to engage the topwire, a locking-plate to secure said members in vertical lalinement, ag'roundsill connected to the lower member, and an inclined braceconnected at its opposite ends to the upper member and outer end of saidgroundsill.

5. A combined fence stretcher and post, comprising a stretcher composedof members hinged together and provided with a notch in the lower endoi' the lower member to engage the bottom wire oi' the Jfence, and anotch inl the upper end of the upper member to engage the top wire, alocking-plate to secure said members in vertical alinement, a groundsillconnected to the lower member, an inclined brace connected at itsopposite ends to the upper member and outer end ot' said groundsill, andportions depending from the groundsill and embedded in the ground.

6. A combined fence stretcher and post, comprising a stretcher composedo't' a plurality of members connected together and adapted to engage andstretch the fence vertically, means for locking said members in therelation they occupy while the fence is stretched, a groundsillconnected to the stretcher near its lower end and projecting' fromopposite sides of the fence, and inclined braces connecting thegroundsill with the upper part of the stretcher.

T. A combined fence stretcher and post, comprising a stretcher composedof a plurality of members connected together and adapted to engageiandstretch the fence vertically, means for locking said members in therelation they occupy while the fence is stretched, a groundsillconnected to the stretcher near its lower end and projecting' fromopposite sides of the fence, inclined braces connecting the groundsillwith the upper part of the stretcher, and portions depending from thegroundsill and embedded in the ground.

S. A combined fence stretcher and post, comprising a stretcher composedof members hinged together, a locking-plate by which said members maybesecured in vertical alinement, a groundsill provided with lugs forming asocket to receive the lower end of the stretcher, and inclined bracessecured at their upper ends to the upper portion of the stretcher and attheir lower ends to said groundsill.

In testimony whereof l atiix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses` JOHN lV. HUTUI'HSON.

VitneSseS/z M. H., BU'r'rs, A. B. lViLliiNsov.,

